Local school boards want to make sure their students have one less test to worry about as pandemic learning brings ongoing challenges.
Both the Upper Grand District School Board and the Wellington Catholic District School Board are pausing the Grade 9 EQAO assessment for the current school year.
Not to be confused with the Grade 10 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, The EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics is not a mandatory graduation requirement for secondary students, rather it is an assessment of the provincial public education system’s performance in developing students' mathematical skills. The EQAO test can be held between October to June.
“We had planned to hold it at the end of the quadmester but, given the circumstances, we will not be administering it at this time,” said the WCDSB’s communications officer Ali Wilson adding that students will have the opportunity to complete the test in the future if required.
“Given the many disruptions these past several weeks and with consideration to student well-being as we finish the quadmester, we are pausing the administration Grade 9 EQAO assessment for the time being.”
Ontario schools returned to in-person learning this week. Neither of the local school boards has a later date set for the assessment.
Upper Grand District School Board communication officer Heather Loney said students enrolled in the de-streamed Grade 9 math course for quadmester 2 were scheduled for their EQAO test late January but because of the level of ongoing uncertainty, the board decided to defer the assessment.
“This decision has been made with input gathered from various stakeholders, including UGDSB students, and acknowledges the incredible stresses and challenges that students and teachers have been experiencing. This decision allows for additional instructional time to support student learning,” said Loney.
